Color your Easter eggs cool and safe

Don't let a bad egg spoil your Easter.

Keep your Easter egg hunts safe as well as fun by remembering that cool eggs are safe eggs. Advice from the the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation cautions that one bad egg can make you sick.

"Easter eggs are so much fun to hide and find. But, unless you know they've only been out of the refrigerator for less than two hours, don't eat them -- just enjoy your art work and use those eggs for decorations," said Janice Adair, director of DEC's Environmental Health program.

"The possible growth of salmonella bacterial in eggs left out of the refrigerator for more than two hours puts people at risk of getting flu-like symptoms of food poisoning. Children are more at risk than adults to suffer severe illness from salmonella," she said.

Since cooked egg shells are porous, Adair said, hard-boiled eggs should be air cooled -- not left standing in water. Also because the egg shells are porous, the Easter bunny and others who hide eggs should avoid places where eggs might contact pets, wild animals, insects or lawn chemicals.

Here are some other tips for safe Easter eggs:

n If you don't color the eggs right after cooking, store them in the refrigerator.

n Refrigerate eggs used in hunts after they are found.

n Don't eat cracked eggs or those unrefrigerated for more than two hours.

n If you decorate with hard-boiled eggs, cook extra eggs for eating and throw away the ones left out for decorations.

The DEC Web site has more information on Easter egg safety, plus a recipe for boiling the perfect egg. Visit www.state.ak.us/dec/deh/ sanitat/homesan.htm or access the site via the DEC home page at www.state.ak.us/dec/.